Flops' Friday mini blog
- Thread starter floppybootstomp
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2002
- Messages
- 20,281
- Reaction score
- 1,794
Can we have an update please Flopps?
Twas Christmas day in the workhouse
The snow was falling fast
We don't want your Christmas Pud
Stick it up...............
My life, atm, is as about as exciting as reading a railway timetable from cover to cover, tis after all the deepest winter.
Mayhap other forum members could relate some interesting happenings in their lives, I'd be interested, for one.
I have been having some shenanigans wiv me home Hi-Fi, lemme get some pix together but really, bit dull innit?
Sorry
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2002
- Messages
- 25,751
- Reaction score
- 1,210
a bit quiet in the workhouse
Urmas
Subarctic Penguin
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2008
- Messages
- 2,412
- Reaction score
- 895
OK:
Warnings for the next 24h
Updated 8.12.2014 11:01 local time
Warnings for sea areas
Warnings: Western Gulf of Finland: South to southwest gale 17 m/s. Eastern Gulf of Finland and Eastern part of Northern Baltic: South to southwest near gale 15 m/s.
Warnings for land areas
No warnings.
Road weather on main roads
Road conditions are bad in provinces Etelä-Savo, Pohjois-Savo, North Karelia, Kainuu and Lapland and also in the municipalities of Pudasjärvi, Taivalkoski and Kuusamo because of snow or sleet and ice-covered roads. In other parts of the country road conditions are normal for the winter.
Early warnings for the next 2–5 days
Updated 8.12.2014 13:47 local time
Early warnings for sea areas
In Northern Baltic, Sea of Åland, Sea of Archipelago and Gulf of Bothnia on Wednesday, probability for south storm is 30 %.
On Wednesday the probability for very rough waves is 70 % in Northern Baltic, Sea of Åland and Gulf of Bothnia. The significant wave height may exceed 4 meters.
Early warnings for land areas
In the western part of the country on the Wednesday, probability for strong winds from south is 70 %. Wind gusts can exceed 20 m/s. In the eastern part of the country and also in provinces North Ostrobothnia and Kainuu on the Wednesday, probability for strong winds from south is 30 %. Wind gusts can exceed 20 m/s.
Road weather on main roads
No warnings.
And here in Helsinki:
Sunrise today at 9:09. Sunset today at 15:15. Length of day is 6 h 6 min.
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 5,758
- Reaction score
- 552
Going up to Blechingdon, Oxfordshire on Friday returning Monday to my son's to deliver Christmas Presents, listening Blechingdon Silver Band Christmas concert on Saturday, Sheldon ( my son) is the musical director and his wife Michaela also plays in the band and so does father and mother in law. I return home on Monday. Sheldon is also a plays in a championship section brass band and will be going to their concert on Sunday. Eee by gum can't beat a good brass band. Sarah my wife is looking after the dogs whilst I am away as I cannot take the dogs with me as my son on and daughter in law are cat lovers and unfortunately Taz loves cats BUT only to chase and eat, we think he was encouraged by a previous owner and it would not be fair to their cats and Taz if I lost control of him and he hurt one of them, so Sarah is dog sitting. But having said that we don't get any cats in our garden.The new blind dog Max has settled in well and he and our other dog Taz get on well and play together, but I do object when they decide to do it at 3am and get woken up by gurrs and wagging tails banging on doors though, but so pleased they are getting on so well. Today we did three country footpaths walks must have done a total of 9 miles, oh and two evening walks 8pm as it is difficult to control the two little buggers on the lead as one wants a quick walk (Taz) , and Max needs time to sniff and listen as those two senses have taken over from his eyes so needs a slower pace also he is building up his muscle tone and putting on weight and does not look like a skeleton with hair on now he has put on at least 2kg since we had him.
PS No one writes as well as you flops and we do miss tour mini blogs, they make me smile
Last edited:
Glad to hear both dogs getting on well together, they are lucky to have You & Mrs Royal.
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2010
- Messages
- 5,758
- Reaction score
- 552
Glad to hear both dogs getting on well together, they are lucky to have You & Mrs Royal.
Yes feckit far better than we anticipated
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2002
- Messages
- 20,281
- Reaction score
- 1,794
A few things.... my latest vinyl turntable build to start. A 'PTP' kit is a set of plates and sundry parts to make a redesigned turntable from a Lenco turntable. The idea is that the two plates take the motor and the platter seperately thus isolating the platter from motor rumble. This topic is lifted directly from a turntable forum I partake in, if anything doesn't seem applicable to PCR. Anyhow, here's what I made:
This started off as a PTP4 project but after building Nigel's speed controller I sold the PTP4 kit and bought a PTP5 kit. Around a year later I finally completed this about a week ago.
I started gathering the parts probably 15 - 18 months ago, starting with four bamboo chopping boards from Lidl (a UK 'budget' supermarket chain). The donor Lenco parts came from an L78 given to me by a schoolkeeper from a secondary school in Fulham, SW London. The L78 had been stored for years in a damp storage cupboard and for some time had suffered water leaking onto it whenever it rained as the roof was leaky. However, the platter actually rotated silently and at the correct speed when mains was applied after being stored all that time.
Serviced the motor and bearing but the hardest part was getting the platter to look presentable and this is where the purchase of a dremel and some decently priced buffing wheels from the USA proved beneficial.
I wish I'd purchased six chopping boards instead of four and I had intended to use the bamboo boards as a temporary solution before making a heavier plinth. But I've come to like this plinth and the setup sounds good to me so the bamboo boards are now a keeper. I've ordered a custom made perspex cover, it should arrive towards the end of the week. The plinth itself had six coats of spirit-based clear gloss varnish.
Using this with a valve phono stage (Analog Metric kit) and a speed controller. Started with an Ortofon Blue 2M MM cartridge but didn't sound that great so took the Denon DL110 from my bedroom Lenco 75 TT and fitted that - that's better!
The L78 had a metal idler wheel but after all that water had made it's way through the turntable over the years I thought it prudent to purchase one of Norberts' new idler wheels.
The arm, as you've probably noticed, is an SME Mk III which I purchased from a forum member here. I read mixed opinions about the Mk III but I like it, it has lots of good adjustment facilities and is easy to set up. I also like the way the arm detaches for easy cartridge fitting.
All in all - very happy with this build, best sounding Lenco project yet, this is number 4 Lenco build for me.
Some pix, first pic prior to assembly:
And here's a summary of my little shopping expedition:
Woke one morning, browsed clothes in wardrobe, needed some new legwear, being of a certain age and thinking Levi 501's no longer really hung right upon my frame, headed for M & S Oxford Street. Greenwich DLR - Bank; Central Line to Bond Street, into HMV, couldn't resist The Killers & Nirvana MTV. The Nirvana sounds particularly good. Almost bought Oasis' What's The Story but I'm not a bottomless cash pit (it cost £20).
Strolled to M& S, two pairs of black jeans, that'll do me. The Oxford Street branch of M & S have a Saville Row suit section. I looked at the price tags and this gave me some food for thought. My goodness, and this is only M & S - what are the prices like in Saville Row itself?
Strolled to Berwick Street, Reckless and Sister Ray (The other one is a bit rubbish lately) not much to interest me unless it was silly money but I did pick up a copy of Lou Reed's Berlin for eight quid which I'd been after for some time. Happy happy (unlike the songs on the album, they deffo not Happy happy).
Strolled through Soho, sad to see it changing so much, still some retail premises selling naughty lady of the night viewings and stuff, past St Martins In The Field, Charing Cross; Lewisham; DLR and home again, home again...
And this sort of things seems to happen to me quite frequently:
I use trains and buses fairly frequently these days and today I was waiting for a bus at Charlton when a man aged about 25 also started waiting at the bus stop. He was a white fella, not scruffy or dirty, clean shaven and wasn’t wearing a coat. A few minutes went by and he spoke to me.
Nutter: Do you know when the next 161 will be arriving?
Me: No I don’t
Nutter: Do I appear obviously drunk?
Me: I don’t know, I don’t care and I don’t want to know, but you don’t smell of alcohol.
Nutter: I’m sorry but I just had a bit of bad news
Me: I don’t want to know about it.
Nutter: My grandmother was involved in a car crash…
Me (interrupting): I’ve had a tragedy too you know, let me tell you about it. Yesterday my auntie fell off the harbour wall at Padstow and was eaten alive by a shark. Do you know why that’s a tragedy? I’ll tell you why it’s a tragedy my friend, it’s because my auntie suffered from a rare blood disease and after eating her the shark died and the shark was an endangered species. Tragedy.
Pause.
Nutter: Well, my grandmother was in this car..
Me: Goodbye, think I’ll take the train.
On the train an elderly gentleman also started talking to me, probably not a nutter, just making small talk and being friendly. I answered with just yes or no , a nod or a grunt.
On arriving home I checked my wall calendar. Nope, it doesn’t say ‘St Loony’s Day (Baffin Island)’ or anything remotely like that, just another non-eventful day.
Right, must be me then.
This started off as a PTP4 project but after building Nigel's speed controller I sold the PTP4 kit and bought a PTP5 kit. Around a year later I finally completed this about a week ago.
I started gathering the parts probably 15 - 18 months ago, starting with four bamboo chopping boards from Lidl (a UK 'budget' supermarket chain). The donor Lenco parts came from an L78 given to me by a schoolkeeper from a secondary school in Fulham, SW London. The L78 had been stored for years in a damp storage cupboard and for some time had suffered water leaking onto it whenever it rained as the roof was leaky. However, the platter actually rotated silently and at the correct speed when mains was applied after being stored all that time.
Serviced the motor and bearing but the hardest part was getting the platter to look presentable and this is where the purchase of a dremel and some decently priced buffing wheels from the USA proved beneficial.
I wish I'd purchased six chopping boards instead of four and I had intended to use the bamboo boards as a temporary solution before making a heavier plinth. But I've come to like this plinth and the setup sounds good to me so the bamboo boards are now a keeper. I've ordered a custom made perspex cover, it should arrive towards the end of the week. The plinth itself had six coats of spirit-based clear gloss varnish.
Using this with a valve phono stage (Analog Metric kit) and a speed controller. Started with an Ortofon Blue 2M MM cartridge but didn't sound that great so took the Denon DL110 from my bedroom Lenco 75 TT and fitted that - that's better!
The L78 had a metal idler wheel but after all that water had made it's way through the turntable over the years I thought it prudent to purchase one of Norberts' new idler wheels.
The arm, as you've probably noticed, is an SME Mk III which I purchased from a forum member here. I read mixed opinions about the Mk III but I like it, it has lots of good adjustment facilities and is easy to set up. I also like the way the arm detaches for easy cartridge fitting.
All in all - very happy with this build, best sounding Lenco project yet, this is number 4 Lenco build for me.
Some pix, first pic prior to assembly:
And here's a summary of my little shopping expedition:
Woke one morning, browsed clothes in wardrobe, needed some new legwear, being of a certain age and thinking Levi 501's no longer really hung right upon my frame, headed for M & S Oxford Street. Greenwich DLR - Bank; Central Line to Bond Street, into HMV, couldn't resist The Killers & Nirvana MTV. The Nirvana sounds particularly good. Almost bought Oasis' What's The Story but I'm not a bottomless cash pit (it cost £20).
Strolled to M& S, two pairs of black jeans, that'll do me. The Oxford Street branch of M & S have a Saville Row suit section. I looked at the price tags and this gave me some food for thought. My goodness, and this is only M & S - what are the prices like in Saville Row itself?
Strolled to Berwick Street, Reckless and Sister Ray (The other one is a bit rubbish lately) not much to interest me unless it was silly money but I did pick up a copy of Lou Reed's Berlin for eight quid which I'd been after for some time. Happy happy (unlike the songs on the album, they deffo not Happy happy).
Strolled through Soho, sad to see it changing so much, still some retail premises selling naughty lady of the night viewings and stuff, past St Martins In The Field, Charing Cross; Lewisham; DLR and home again, home again...
And this sort of things seems to happen to me quite frequently:
I use trains and buses fairly frequently these days and today I was waiting for a bus at Charlton when a man aged about 25 also started waiting at the bus stop. He was a white fella, not scruffy or dirty, clean shaven and wasn’t wearing a coat. A few minutes went by and he spoke to me.
Nutter: Do you know when the next 161 will be arriving?
Me: No I don’t
Nutter: Do I appear obviously drunk?
Me: I don’t know, I don’t care and I don’t want to know, but you don’t smell of alcohol.
Nutter: I’m sorry but I just had a bit of bad news
Me: I don’t want to know about it.
Nutter: My grandmother was involved in a car crash…
Me (interrupting): I’ve had a tragedy too you know, let me tell you about it. Yesterday my auntie fell off the harbour wall at Padstow and was eaten alive by a shark. Do you know why that’s a tragedy? I’ll tell you why it’s a tragedy my friend, it’s because my auntie suffered from a rare blood disease and after eating her the shark died and the shark was an endangered species. Tragedy.
Pause.
Nutter: Well, my grandmother was in this car..
Me: Goodbye, think I’ll take the train.
On the train an elderly gentleman also started talking to me, probably not a nutter, just making small talk and being friendly. I answered with just yes or no , a nod or a grunt.
On arriving home I checked my wall calendar. Nope, it doesn’t say ‘St Loony’s Day (Baffin Island)’ or anything remotely like that, just another non-eventful day.
Right, must be me then.
Taffycat
Crunchy Cat
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2006
- Messages
- 12,831
- Reaction score
- 1,068
You have done a very fine job there Sir Flopps! The bamboo plinth looks awfully good I think and I'm glad the boards have proved to work so well. Very innovative if I might say so. 
Oh... I took a look at M&S online recently, in an effort to find some suitable trousers/jeans/chinos... in fact, almost anything (can you hear the desperation creeping into my typing there...?) ..for hubby! He used to be so easy to buy for - and he hasn't really changed size-wise. But he has a bit of spine curvature now, so it's a nightmare to find something that fits well.
Wonder whether he would consider a sarong... or maybe a kilt..?
Glad you were able to get kitted-out.
Wow... one meets all sorts when queueing/waiting for things. Maybe next time, take a small cardboard box with you. Then ask if they would care to take a peek inside, to see your invisible pet, explaining that it can't be seen, but you know he's in there... mwaa-haa-haa
Oh... I took a look at M&S online recently, in an effort to find some suitable trousers/jeans/chinos... in fact, almost anything (can you hear the desperation creeping into my typing there...?) ..for hubby! He used to be so easy to buy for - and he hasn't really changed size-wise. But he has a bit of spine curvature now, so it's a nightmare to find something that fits well.
Wonder whether he would consider a sarong... or maybe a kilt..?
Glad you were able to get kitted-out.
Wow... one meets all sorts when queueing/waiting for things. Maybe next time, take a small cardboard box with you. Then ask if they would care to take a peek inside, to see your invisible pet, explaining that it can't be seen, but you know he's in there... mwaa-haa-haa
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2002
- Messages
- 25,751
- Reaction score
- 1,210
That's one smart looking 'plinth' ...
I have no problem finding cloths at M&S, but you won't find a kilt there. I own a kilt.
... as for, strange people, err, we are all strange!
I have no problem finding cloths at M&S, but you won't find a kilt there. I own a kilt.
... as for, strange people, err, we are all strange!
Sir Flopps you do seem to attract the odd nutter in your trips.
Sorry to hear about the shark, that must have been very sad news!
The photos are very good and your humour is funny.
I might have to hire you when I buy my music system?
Do you do trip to the end of the District Line??
Sorry to hear about the shark, that must have been very sad news!
The photos are very good and your humour is funny.
I might have to hire you when I buy my music system?
Do you do trip to the end of the District Line??
Taffycat
Crunchy Cat
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2006
- Messages
- 12,831
- Reaction score
- 1,068
It would, indeed, be good, Sir Flopps, to hear of the latest happenings within Bootstomp Towers - or even without, on any recent perambulations.Update Time please Sir Flopps, me thinks!!
I hope Sir Flopps is writing as i'm typing.It would, indeed, be good, Sir Flopps, to hear of the latest happenings within Bootstomp Towers - or even without, on any recent perambulations.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2002
- Messages
- 20,281
- Reaction score
- 1,794
They say you are what you eat and if that is true then right now I should resemble a quivering glass of green gloop. One day I got to thinking I should make my own smoothies and a search threw up this wonder machine named a Nutribullet. So after reading all the write-ups I thought I’d get one of those even though they cost a hundred quid. Healthiness is all, right?
I got my Nutribullet (it’s a sort of food processor or nutrient extractor to give it the sales label in case you don’t know) on Thursday and today I made my first whisked up mixture of fruit veg and nuts and drank a litre of the stuff. How did it taste you ask?
Since you ask, well, odd, if you must know. I was not totally convinced. Before I made my first smoothie daughter asked ‘which recipe are you using?’ to which I replied ‘None, I’ll make my own up’. And offspring replied ‘You should stick to the recipes dad, honestly’
Guess what? She was right. Into my first one I put half a banana; a pear; a quarter fresh pineapple; and a couple of handfuls of water cress, spinach, kale, rocket and a sprinkling of pecan nuts. Added water (filtered tap water if you must know) and whisked away.
I had a glass full of something that looked like a prop in a Frankenstein film. So I slurped away and…. That is disgusting! Well, it weren’t that bad but not what I expected. After surveying recipe books and scouting online I figured adding the cress was the mistake, it is NOT recommended as it can change the taste of most everything and overwhelm. This will be a learning process but spinach and kale are meant to have cancer prevention properties, so they say, so they will be my green veg of choice from now on.
It occurred to me I may have left this health kick a little late in life but better late than never eh?
Buying the Nutribullet was interesting too. Ordered from John Lewis, collected from local Waitrose. Saw young girl at service counter, she called manager who went to fetch parcel. Whilst waiting she asked me 'Hope you don't mind me being nosy but what's in your parcel?' I said 'A blow up doll for me and a vibrator for the wife'. She didn't speak to me after that.
Right now the good people at the dental department at Guys Hospital have put what’s left of my teeth to as good as they can possibly be and in early June I go and see the Professor on the 21st floor, Mr Bannerjee who is a terribly nice fellow who has roots in India or Pakistan or Bethnal Green and is going to attempt to make me some false gnashers. This should be interesting.
At part way through patching up my surviving molars on January 15th of this year I visited Guys. The first part of the year at Guys dental department (interestingly, named ‘Special Care & Sedation’ though I’ve never been sedated or, for that matter, been given special care as far as I know) lots of trainee dentists are allowed to have a pop at us hapless victims, er, patients.
Some are good and some are not, which is to be expected but this young guy who looked like he hailed from maybe Cyprus, Morocco, Mauritius or maybe Neasden nearly split my mouth open with his hands. Somebody should really tell them it’s a human being they’re working on, not a crash test dummy.
But I digress, on January 15th a young student white girl treated me and I think she must have over-studied the part of the manual that had as chapter heading ‘Bedside manners’ cos she was well over the top in the niceness department. Honestly girl, you really don’t have to smile and coo that much.
Anyhow, in the course of her exam she was dictating to her nurse and said ‘Lump noticed on roof of mouth’. I’m sitting back in the dentists’ chair looking up at a screen showing the top of a cherry tree or something , bright light shining at me and I hear this and alarm bells go off. Saying ‘lump’ to a former cancer sufferer is worse than saying ‘accounts inspection’ to the head of one of our national banks.
So at the end of my dentists’ visit I ask about the lump, and trainee tooth-quack calls senior molar doctor over. More senior tooth specialist advises me to make appointment with oncologist but ‘It’s probably nothing to worry about’.
Now, I know from experience that those words actually translate to ‘we think you may have cancer again but if you’re quick you may have a better chance of surviving or at least avoiding some really nasty stuff like voice box removal or being fed through a tube into your stomach for the rest of your life’. Ok, I take this in and I think to myself the ENT Dept (Ear Nose & Throat) is in same building and it would take about 1 minute at most for an experienced oncologist to diagnose me but no, I have to make an appointment.
I go home in a bit of a daze and for the forseeable future keep imagining worst scenarios and seriously consider making a will and writing memoirs. And perversely, have frequent fits of laughing and shouting to myself ‘So what?’
The appointment takes three weeks to materialise. This time, to put it mildly, is filled with a great deal of anxiety and almost depression.
The day arrives, I see oncologist, she shines torch in my mouth and declares ‘I don’t see anything there to cause me any concern at all, in fact I don’t see anything as reported by the dentist’ I have to struggle to stop from crying and think to myself ‘I’m going to get drunk’. Lady doctor further elucidates ‘It could have been a blocked saliva duct, a scratch from food, any one of a dozen different reasons but there’s no lump there now’.
I want to kiss her. I also notice how my Indian lady doctor do look a bit tasty. Oops, I’m not supposed to think that am I?
So here we are in 2015 and it’s May time. Feels more like late September time. I’ve been given a Bang and Olufsen posh music centre a Beocenter 3500 which didn’t work. I’ve fixed the main fault, one pole of mains switch was open circuit so just bypassed it. Have bought one power supply capacitor to replace one that had gassed (3300uF 70V - £12-50 if anybody’s interested) and I also now have a replacment drive belt for the turntable that cost me £20.
There’s a very good chance I’ll restore this to working and it 's just had a new stylus fitted as well. It’s silver, plays records and has a tuner and it was made from ’73 to ’79. I’ve also fixed the Perspex lid, fabricated a hinge that had snapped off.
This thing is a bit of a style icon from the seventies and I think if I can get it working I may fetch between £250 and £300 for it. We shall see.
Ok peeps, that’s all I can rattle off for now, I’m sure there’s more but that’ll do, off to some pub in Clapham to see a band tomorrow, meeting some friends I haven’t seen for a while. 4pm – 7pm band is on, this is a good time to visit a pub on a Sunday.
Pip pip!
I got my Nutribullet (it’s a sort of food processor or nutrient extractor to give it the sales label in case you don’t know) on Thursday and today I made my first whisked up mixture of fruit veg and nuts and drank a litre of the stuff. How did it taste you ask?
Since you ask, well, odd, if you must know. I was not totally convinced. Before I made my first smoothie daughter asked ‘which recipe are you using?’ to which I replied ‘None, I’ll make my own up’. And offspring replied ‘You should stick to the recipes dad, honestly’
Guess what? She was right. Into my first one I put half a banana; a pear; a quarter fresh pineapple; and a couple of handfuls of water cress, spinach, kale, rocket and a sprinkling of pecan nuts. Added water (filtered tap water if you must know) and whisked away.
I had a glass full of something that looked like a prop in a Frankenstein film. So I slurped away and…. That is disgusting! Well, it weren’t that bad but not what I expected. After surveying recipe books and scouting online I figured adding the cress was the mistake, it is NOT recommended as it can change the taste of most everything and overwhelm. This will be a learning process but spinach and kale are meant to have cancer prevention properties, so they say, so they will be my green veg of choice from now on.
It occurred to me I may have left this health kick a little late in life but better late than never eh?
Buying the Nutribullet was interesting too. Ordered from John Lewis, collected from local Waitrose. Saw young girl at service counter, she called manager who went to fetch parcel. Whilst waiting she asked me 'Hope you don't mind me being nosy but what's in your parcel?' I said 'A blow up doll for me and a vibrator for the wife'. She didn't speak to me after that.
Right now the good people at the dental department at Guys Hospital have put what’s left of my teeth to as good as they can possibly be and in early June I go and see the Professor on the 21st floor, Mr Bannerjee who is a terribly nice fellow who has roots in India or Pakistan or Bethnal Green and is going to attempt to make me some false gnashers. This should be interesting.
At part way through patching up my surviving molars on January 15th of this year I visited Guys. The first part of the year at Guys dental department (interestingly, named ‘Special Care & Sedation’ though I’ve never been sedated or, for that matter, been given special care as far as I know) lots of trainee dentists are allowed to have a pop at us hapless victims, er, patients.
Some are good and some are not, which is to be expected but this young guy who looked like he hailed from maybe Cyprus, Morocco, Mauritius or maybe Neasden nearly split my mouth open with his hands. Somebody should really tell them it’s a human being they’re working on, not a crash test dummy.
But I digress, on January 15th a young student white girl treated me and I think she must have over-studied the part of the manual that had as chapter heading ‘Bedside manners’ cos she was well over the top in the niceness department. Honestly girl, you really don’t have to smile and coo that much.
Anyhow, in the course of her exam she was dictating to her nurse and said ‘Lump noticed on roof of mouth’. I’m sitting back in the dentists’ chair looking up at a screen showing the top of a cherry tree or something , bright light shining at me and I hear this and alarm bells go off. Saying ‘lump’ to a former cancer sufferer is worse than saying ‘accounts inspection’ to the head of one of our national banks.
So at the end of my dentists’ visit I ask about the lump, and trainee tooth-quack calls senior molar doctor over. More senior tooth specialist advises me to make appointment with oncologist but ‘It’s probably nothing to worry about’.
Now, I know from experience that those words actually translate to ‘we think you may have cancer again but if you’re quick you may have a better chance of surviving or at least avoiding some really nasty stuff like voice box removal or being fed through a tube into your stomach for the rest of your life’. Ok, I take this in and I think to myself the ENT Dept (Ear Nose & Throat) is in same building and it would take about 1 minute at most for an experienced oncologist to diagnose me but no, I have to make an appointment.
I go home in a bit of a daze and for the forseeable future keep imagining worst scenarios and seriously consider making a will and writing memoirs. And perversely, have frequent fits of laughing and shouting to myself ‘So what?’
The appointment takes three weeks to materialise. This time, to put it mildly, is filled with a great deal of anxiety and almost depression.
The day arrives, I see oncologist, she shines torch in my mouth and declares ‘I don’t see anything there to cause me any concern at all, in fact I don’t see anything as reported by the dentist’ I have to struggle to stop from crying and think to myself ‘I’m going to get drunk’. Lady doctor further elucidates ‘It could have been a blocked saliva duct, a scratch from food, any one of a dozen different reasons but there’s no lump there now’.
I want to kiss her. I also notice how my Indian lady doctor do look a bit tasty. Oops, I’m not supposed to think that am I?
So here we are in 2015 and it’s May time. Feels more like late September time. I’ve been given a Bang and Olufsen posh music centre a Beocenter 3500 which didn’t work. I’ve fixed the main fault, one pole of mains switch was open circuit so just bypassed it. Have bought one power supply capacitor to replace one that had gassed (3300uF 70V - £12-50 if anybody’s interested) and I also now have a replacment drive belt for the turntable that cost me £20.
There’s a very good chance I’ll restore this to working and it 's just had a new stylus fitted as well. It’s silver, plays records and has a tuner and it was made from ’73 to ’79. I’ve also fixed the Perspex lid, fabricated a hinge that had snapped off.
This thing is a bit of a style icon from the seventies and I think if I can get it working I may fetch between £250 and £300 for it. We shall see.
Ok peeps, that’s all I can rattle off for now, I’m sure there’s more but that’ll do, off to some pub in Clapham to see a band tomorrow, meeting some friends I haven’t seen for a while. 4pm – 7pm band is on, this is a good time to visit a pub on a Sunday.
Pip pip!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2002
- Messages
- 25,751
- Reaction score
- 1,210
I'd believe you, but Snopes tells me otherwise.
Some "professionals" don't actually know that you are sitting there in front of them.
Have a pint for me!
nivrip
Yorkshire Cruncher
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2007
- Messages
- 11,167
- Reaction score
- 2,175
As a penniless student in the late 60s I went to the Dental School in Newcastle where I saw a dental student who dealt with an aching tooth. He was very meticulous and worked under supervision and he was so careful that it took six sessions to get it right. I ended up with a gold filling which was quite something then, especially in one so young.
It was obviously really well done because I still have the filling to this day and it has never needed any attention. I spotted the same guy in a pub 30 to 35 years later ( he hadn't changed much) and just had to go over to tell him that he had worked on me all those years ago and I still had the tooth and the filling.
He was amazed.
Taffycat
Crunchy Cat
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2006
- Messages
- 12,831
- Reaction score
- 1,068
We purchased one of those at the back-end of last year. At the time, hubby's digestion was a bit out-of-sorts, due to some heavy-duty anti-biotics. My TMJ (jaw problem) had also flared-up, so the machine was a great help. (However, I still think my favourite gadget of all time, namely, our "Bamix" is more versatile, (particularly if you want to plunge it into hot soup, etc.,) but, between the two, most things can be rendered edible, when a bit of help is needed.)
Aww Flopps, that remark about "a lump" must have felt devastating to you! To say something like that, but then make you wait for three weeks, is nothing short of torture! As a former dentist of ours used to say "Some students need to remember that there is a patient on the other end of the tooth!"
Anyway, so glad to hear that nothing was found to be wrong, great news!
Here is wishing you well with the false-gnasher procedure - you'll soon be able to flash those pearlies like Bobby Crush on show-nights!
Take care Sir Flopps, and all the very best to you.
